tạm biệt Việt Nam

So our trip is coming to an end (tam biet means goodbye).  We are leaving for the airport in less than 12 hours.   It is likely future posts will be just updates on our trip home if I can find free airport WIFI.  There may yet be a post summarizing my whole experience if I can collect my thoughts a little.  We have had a great time and this is a beautiful country with a wonderful population, but all has not been easy.  Kamea continues to have severe, pathological, separation anxiety and it is not clear how easy this is going to be when I get back to work.  Noah is jealous and both are a lot of work.  Again, I need to write about all of this separately I think.

In the meantime, we have been delinquent about the events of the last couple of days.   Saturday a.m. Maelle sent me off to a cooking class.  I am sure she would have loved to go but Kamea cannot spend more than 5 seconds out of her sight, so off I went.

First up was a market tour.  The typical Vietnamese family (in Hanoi -- there are regional and urban / rural differences) apparently eats breakfast on the road to work or school.  There are many places to to this and a typical meal is a variation of phở (a noodle based broth) or a type of sandwich.  Lunch and dinner are usually at home if possible.  Trips to the market are at least twice a day for the midday and the evening meal.  No one uses a supermarket -- fresh food only is trusted.  The market trips also are used as social time, typically for Vietnamese women, more than men.  There are 4 types of market; the mobile market (usually women carrying food on a scooter or on a long pole over their shoulders), the "frog" market (people lay out their food on a tarp on the street and can move from place to place if the police arrive -- no permit), the local market (permits, stalls etc), and the wholesale market (where all the previous 3 get their fresh goods at 1-2 in the morning.  The cheapest and most available is the frog market and it seems most people get their food there.  Our market tour took us through the first 3 types showing us various types of fresh herbs and meats, noodles, and beans.  Fortunately dog meat is unlucky on the 15th of the lunar month so I didn't get to see them skin any pets.  I did get to try around 6 different kinds of mint though, as well a vietnamese dumpling, and was imparted good advice like don't buy the fish if it is not still swimming.

We then proceeded to cooking class.  8 of us were taught how to make a typical Hanoi street meal called Bún chả which means pork noodles.  I have the recipe and will recreate it in Montreal one day but in general it consisted of spring rolls with pork and pork barbecue all in a fish sauce based broth with noodles.  We even decorated the plates as you can see below.  It was excellent -- even if I was slightly and suspiciously ill the next day.  Still worth it.

We were given some tips of selecting cuts of meat, spices, cutting vegetables and barbecuing over charcoal.  The vietnamese cook a lot outside on the street in front of their homes or businesses as part of a social ritual.  They do not use an oven for any reason.  A typical meal is served family style and may include many courses but must include a soup or broth, a "salty" component (usually meat) and vegetables (greens are vegetables -- carrots etc are not considered vegetables for this purpose).  The meal must balance flavours and textures (ie. sweet and sour, salt and plain, cruncy and soft, spicy and cold etc.)

Finally for those of you keeping track -- today was Kamea's 2nd birthday.  We had a little party.  She seemed bewildered by the whole thing and was clearly terrified of the candle.  In any event, Noah seemed to like the idea.

Home to Montreal and real life in 36 hours or so.  I will miss Vietnam and we will certainly return to see the rest of the country when the kids are older.